Would you put your foot down over these results?

[EggLettuceTomato]

I've had loads of blood tests as feeling absolutely shattered, dizzy, tingly hands and feet, anxiety bouts, racing heart and brain fog. All has come back in normal range but would you query the b12 and ferrin results being on the lower side?
This has been ongoing a couple of years and has got to the stage now where I’m avoiding going out if I can help it but the Drs said last time
as it’s in normal range I should just get on with it.
AIBU to query this more with them this time round or should I carry on trying to push through it? (hate going to the drs!)
And has anyone had anything similar?
Ferrin is 16 u/gL (range 12-160) and
B12 is 161 ng/L (range 145-910)
Thanks x

Have you taken steps to bring your iron and b12 levels up? More red meat for example?

They're within the normal range. They won't refer you. If the dr did it would just get kicked back because it's in the normal range.

Have you tried alternatives like dietary changes? Different sleep habits? Taking an over the counter multivitamin (try a pregnacare one as they're good for iron).

how long have you not been going out for? That can make you feel pretty rubbish all by itself

My ferritin was 10 same range as yours one Dr told me that it was hardly anemic.....Have to say I have felt dreadful, I have started eating lots of nuts and seeds.

You can get ferrous fumarate 210mg over the counter and B12 supplements.
One 210mg ferrous fumarate every other day made a massive difference to me.

Thanks for the reply.
Been going on for about 2 years but suddenly got worse in the last few months.
Diet is really good lots of nuts, eggs, fish only small amounts of red meat though
I’ve been taking a multivitamin plus the BetterYou vitamin B complex spray

General GPs don't know enough about b12 deficiency.
They just go by the guidelines.
I saw a specialist.
I had all your symptoms plus more .
I now SI once a week.
Buy from Germany £1 a shot

My life has changed.

I will start by saying I'm not a health professional. However, I'd say both of them are questionable but you won't get anywhere as they are "normal". According to NICE B12 below 180ng/L is deficient. If I recall correctly 30 is the equivalent for ferritin.
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng239/chapter/Recommendations#recognising-vitamin-b12-deficiency

I was told by a neurologist (NHS) that my borderline b12 was causing my constant pins and needles/buzzing hands and feet. I got b12 injections at my GP for years and it went away completely.

During covid they stopped them.

I can't get then back as the NHS neuro I saw was during one of those catch up sessions the NHS often has to have to meet targets and the letter is written on private surgery paper......I cannot get the receptionist to understand that it WAS AN NHS APPOINTMENT

And they will also not let me talk to a GP about it, beyond annoying. Anyway I'm now on the tablets.....they do nothing, I still have buzzing hands and feet

What dietary changes have you made? Have you tried adding liver to your diet?

@Moier Was it a private specialist you saw? Thinking this way be the way I’ll have to go.
@LeopardsRockingham omg yes!- the tingly feeling is exactly like buzzing I was wincing as I was walking the other day as the feeling of it in my feet makes me feel horrible and nauseous.
@DrCoconut thanks for the link

The B12 level is far too low, only the nhs accepts that level other countries accept that nerve damage starts to occur below 500 and treat accordingly

Mine was 112 when it was finally identified and was part of my deficiency profile that led to a coeliac diagnosis

As a stop gap you can get methylcobalamin in lozenge form (Jarrow) is the one we use from Amazon etc. whatever you do don’t get cobalamin as you may not be able to absorb it

like many others l self inject hydroxycobalamin to keep my levels stable and take methyl folate along side as you need adequate levels of one to absorb the other

@S0livagant over the last couple of years I’ve upped my dairy, have loads of eggs (at least one a day) couple of portions of fish a week. Chicken once a week and red meat probably once every couple of weeks lots of nuts and veg too. Don’t think I could stomach liver! I also take the betteryou B complex spray and multivitamin although not always the multivitamin as they tend to cause me diarrhoea!

@Tomnooktoldmeto Thanks for this info- I’ll look into your recommendations. 😊 How do you find the injections? Any side effects? I seem to be prone to an upset stomach with any medication/ supplements etc!

@EggLettuceTomato it really does sound like you may have underlying reasons for the deficiencies which many of us do.

You need to check what form of folic acid and b12 are in your current supplements, many of us have problems with the process of methylation and have faulty copies of the MTHFR gene, this can mean your body has difficulty converting folic acid and cobalamin or hydroxycobalamin to the bioavailable forms of methyl folate and methyl cobalamin. If you have this problem taking the wrong form is actually detrimental as they then block the receptors

I order my B12 from Germany via Amazon, I go to Amazon.de change the language to English and type in hydroxycobalamin, don’t order cobalamin injections it needs to be hydroxy to increase your chance of converting it to methyl in your blood stream. Needles and syringes I order from Amazon/ebay. I also do subcutaneous injections with 24g needles not intramuscular for a slower more sustained release

@Tomnooktoldmeto thanks so much I feel like I can go in to my appointment tomorrow armed with more info!

@LeopardsRockingham you need to get this treated or you will have permanent nerve damage, get the jabs on line and give them yourself if you have to.

I had similar a similar b12 result and thankfully was living overseas at the time and although I couldn’t get it on my health insurance, my GP said her approach is to treat the symptoms, not the numbers. I think it took me about 20 loading injections every other day to feel better and I now inject every other week. I use a sublingual spray daily. I’m not a doctor but have been told that there’s no harm in too much b12 but there too little is harmful. Again, not a doctor, but my research suggested that once you start injecting, it’s impossible to get an accurate blood test of your b12 levels - it’ll just pick up your injections. Best wishes in getting the treatment you need, whether you go through the GP or acquiring b12 independently.

You can't overdose on B12 injections.
Anything your body doesn't want it comes out in your pee.
Yes l first went private.
The other posters have put where to get them from.
There is an excellent Facebook group too.. that helps where you obtain everything from.
I inject once a week into my thigh.
Don't forget to buy a sharps bin.
We take ours to the local drug facility when full.

They won't do a single thing. Although many will confirm you absolutely can feel symptomatic at those levels.

Forget the NHS on this one. This is all part of the systemic gaslighting to just get rid of as many patients as possible. All you'll do is feel frustrated by how rubbish they will be.

Raise levels yourself. Lots of groups online to help.

I decided to start high dose sublingual B12 drops, due to a history of pernicious anaemia in family. It's changed my life - energy levels rocketed, mood lifted and brain fog disappeared. 10,000 per day. I would never stop it. Do speak to your GP re the high dose though.

Your multivitamin and b complex will be falsely raising your b12 levels.

your levels are “normal” because the normal range is a lot lower than it used to be. Cost cutting on part of nhs.

Very unlikely you will get anywhere with gp unless you get one who actually understands vitamins and these issues.

sadly private is probably the only way, I had an iron infusion privately last year (my levels were just below “normal”) and I have done my own b12 injections since Covid (weekly), without those things I would be very ill, I still have permanent nerve damage from the b12 deficiency.

There is an excellent private dr who specialises in this in Cambridge, pm me if you are near and would like the details.

Thanks everyone I did a private b12 test 3hrs after my gp’s one and got the results back last night - 115 pg/ml so I’m taking this into the drs tomorrow to beg them to do something. I’ve just joined the fb b12 group thanks for the suggestions.
I’ll be sucking it up and going private if the drs refuse to help me tomorrow as I can’t carry on like this - apart from the school run which I’m struggling with I’m virtually housebound and have lost lots of friends, sick of feeling so ill! 🤢

@honeyandbutterontoast thank so much unfortunately I’m up in Cheshire

Also consider b6 toxicity which causes very similar symptoms. Especially if you’ve been supplementing with b6. The Facebook group is also very helpful

understandingb6toxicity.com